Fans of bluegrass will probably agree that taking breaks (solos) at lightning speed is a thrill. It requires coordination of your fretting hand with the pluck/strum of your picking hand, and keeping it interesting by throwing in syncopation, pull-offs, and hammer-ons, all the while maintaining a fast consistent tempo. It’s quite remarkable to watch up close. And it’s something I doubt I’ll ever do.
So I knew what I was getting myself into when Mike and I made a deal at the 2004 Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival. He would enter the banjo contest if I entered the mandolin contest.
One by one I watched my competition… young country boys in overalls who ripped out their amazing licks with speed and force. But I had a simple tortoise strategy. I picked a haunting hornpipe called “Gilderoy.” And I played it as slowly and sadly as possible. Each note was clear. The ends of phrases sustained in the air because I play a fantastic KG mandolin and the sound system was really good. I won first place!
I promptly donated the $100 prize to the festival shower fund. Good music at a festival is great, but a hot shower is greater.
Ah, yes, Shakori ’04…….I remember it well. And, of course, I remember “The Deal”. 🙂 I was too proud to back down once I said I would do it, and too scared to be nervous……or was it too nervous to be scared??? Anyway, the competition was stiff (whereas I was only scared stiff) and I figured I had no shot of winning……which actually equals nothing to lose. So I busted out a very creepy, squirrely, crooked, minor tune…..and let ‘er rip!!! The contestant right before me was Adam Hurt, who had just won at Clifftop the year before. He was SOOOO much better than me, that after I played I did not even bother to stick around. Imagine my surprise a couple of hours later when one of the judges came running up and said “Oh, THERE you are! We have been looking all over for you! You took first place!!” 🙂 Apparently they were impressed not so much by my technical mastery (of which I had none), but by my “go for it” attitude and my “confident & assured style” [insert my wild laughter here] Go figure!!!